Without my wings
by Skovko
Summary: It's been a month and Baron hasn't been able to let go of the memory of Deja. His bar is thriving like never before but he's ready to give it all up and walk away if he can be with her. One night he gets drunk and goes to Drew to beg for Drew to take him to Deja, and everything changes fast. (Sequel to Black Wings.)
1. Find a way

Someone knocked on Drew's door in the middle of the night. He had a feeling who he might find on the other side of the door. To no surprise he found his friend Baron standing there. Drew had hoped that with time Baron would let go of Deja inside his head. After all, he had only known her a day. A month later and Baron kept feeling like shit.

"Are you drunk?" Drew asked.  
"Just a little," Baron answered. "I own a bar, you know."  
"You're supposed to serve people there. Not drink your own stash," Drew said.  
"Whatever. Let me in," Baron said.

Baron pushed Drew aside and walked in without an invitation.

"Baron, it's fucking 4 AM. Go home and sleep it off," Drew tried.  
"I'll sleep on your couch," Baron said.

Baron dumped down on Drew's couch. Drew kept standing on the floor. He had to get Baron out of his home somehow.

"I miss her," Baron sighed. "After all this time, I still miss her."  
"You don't really know her," Drew said.  
"It doesn't matter. I can't let go of her inside my head. I look at all the women passing through my bar each night, and no one compares to her. I only want her," Baron said.  
"It's not real," Drew said.  
"It's real!" Baron yelled.

Drew got startled by Baron's outburst. He took a deep breath and tried to reason with his friend.

"What I meant is that it's her. Her heightened senses and everything she can do. She can't control it. She made you feel stronger because of what's inside her," Drew said.  
"I know that and I don't care. I want her back," Baron gave Drew a pleading look. "You know where she is. You know the way to their place. Take me there, please."  
"You know I can't," Drew said.

Baron was about to argue with Drew but the words got caught in his throat as his eyes landed on the leather coat hanging over the back of one of the arm chairs. Drew's eyes followed Baron's and spotted the coat as well. Drew knew he had fucked up. He reached for the coat but he wasn't fast enough. For a drunk man Baron moved fast, and he suddenly stood up with the coat in his hands.

"I can explain," Drew said.  
"This is her coat," Baron said. "This is her fucking coat! Is she here? Where the hell are you hiding her?"  
"Calm down," Drew said.  
"Deja!" Baron yelled.

Baron was ready to run through Drew's house in search of her. He walked past Drew. Drew grabbed Baron's arm. Baron turned around and planted his fist into Drew's face. Drew walked a few steps backwards and stared in disbelief at his friend.

"You hit me," Drew could hardly believe it. "You fucking hit me!"  
"Where is she?" Baron growled.

The door to the bedroom opened, and Deja stepped out.

"Baron, stop," Deja said.

Baron turned around and stared at Deja. He didn't know whether to smile or cry at the sight of her. Bare footed like he remembered. Wearing a pair of black pants and that Street Fighter t-shirt she had taken from him a month ago. She walked over to him and placed her hands on his upper arms. A chill went through his entire body. He broke into a smile and wrapped his arms around her.

"I missed you," he said.  
"I missed you too," she said.  
"This is why I told you not to come here," Drew looked at Deja. "I knew this would happen at some point. I knew you two would run into each other again."  
"So?" Baron asked.  
"So?" Drew stared at Baron. "You can't fucking be together! You know that!"

Baron placed his hands on Deja's cheeks and leaned down to kiss her. Drew mumbled something in annoyance as the two people got lost in their own little world for a short while. Baron broke the kiss and smiled at Deja.

"Hi, gorgeous," Baron said lowly. "Do you wanna be with me?"  
"Yes," Deja said.  
"I'll sell my bar then," Baron said.  
"You what?" Drew asked in disbelief.

Baron kept the smile on his face as he looked at Drew.

"People are flocking to it after the murders. I have a full house every night. I've earned more this last month than I did the entire last year. I already had two people reach out trying to buy it. I can sell it for a heavy profit, and we can go somewhere together," Baron said.  
"Where are you gonna go, huh?" Drew asked. "They have her face on camera. You have no idea what they're capable of and how many cameras they got access to across America. All it takes is one little misstep, and they'll be coming for her."  
"All across America?" Baron smirked. "How about other places? How about Europe?"

For a second no one spoke. Drew was thinking about it and slowly shook his head.

"You're insane," Drew said.  
"How about Europe?" Baron repeated.  
"I don't know. Maybe," Drew sighed. "Don't fucking do this. You can't be together. You can't ever go anywhere without having her completely covered up. If anyone sees those wings..."

Drew's eyes filled with tears as he looked at Deja.

"I'm not trying to hurt you," Drew said. "You gotta understand that it's too dangerous."  
"But I love him," Deja said.  
"No, you don't. You don't know him," Drew said. "You don't even know what love is."

Drew regretted those words the second he said them. Her face turned into one of sadness. He knew he had hit her where it hurt the most. There was so much she didn't know about the world, and he had just told her that she didn't know about feelings either.

"I thought you were on my side," Deja said.  
"I am. I'm trying to keep you alive," Drew said.  
"You don't care," Deja said. "As long as you get what you want, you don't care about me. You don't care about how I feel or what I want."  
"You're not normal," Drew said. "You can't just do whatever the hell you want. You gotta understand..."  
"I understand just fine!" Deja snarled. "I understand that I don't like you anymore!"

She walked up to Drew fast and pushed him in the chest. He fell to the floor. Before Baron could react, Deja ran out of Drew's house and took off. Baron ran to the open front door but she was gone. He walked back in and looked at Drew who was getting up from the floor.

"Some strength she has," Drew tried to laugh it off.  
"You asshole! You motherfucking asshole!" Baron growled. "Why can't you just let us be together?"  
"Because you can't!" Drew yelled. "Go home and get sober. Think about it tomorrow. How the fuck could this ever work out? I want nothing more than to see you and her happy, but happiness was never in the cards for her."  
"Right, because she wasn't created for it," Baron said. "Well, guess what? She has a brain and she has a heart. Let her use both the way she wants to. You don't get to make the calls for her."

Baron stomped out of Drew's house in anger. In that moment he didn't care about Drew. He knew somewhere Drew was coming from the right place, and that Drew was only trying to think about what was right for Deja and her sisters. But even Drew couldn't control Deja's feelings. She had grown into a woman with wants and needs, and she wanted Baron.

"I'll find a way," Baron said determined to himself. "Whatever it takes."


	2. To love and be loved

Deja sat on a fallen tree far away from any of her sisters to catch her scent or hear her. She wasn't surprised to see Alexa fly up to her. Alexa was the sister Deja was closest to. Alexa was also the only sister who knew where Deja went if she wanted to be alone. Alexa sat down next to Deja and took her hand.

"I can smell Baron on you," Alexa said.  
"He came by Drew's last night," Deja said.  
"Where did you get that?" Alexa asked.

Alexa pointed at the dagger in Deja's hand. It was beautiful made and looked unused.

"Drew has a collection. I borrowed one," Deja said.  
"Borrowed or stole?" Alexa giggled.  
"I'm gonna return it once I'm done with it," Deja said.  
"What are you planning on using it for?" Alexa asked.

Deja looked into Alexa's eyes. Deja had tears in her eyes. In that moment Alexa knew exactly what Deja wanted. Deja placed the dagger in Alexa's hands.

"No," Alexa whispered.  
"Please, help me," Deja pleaded. "I wanna be with him."

Deja turned her back to Alexa and spread out her wings.

"Deja, please. Think about this," Alexa said.  
"I have. Drew's right. I can't ever go anywhere with my wings. If people see them, I'll be hunted. I wanna be normal, Alexa. I wanna be human," Deja said.  
"I'm gonna miss you," Alexa said.

Alexa grabbed the left wing and placed the dagger as close to Deja's back as she could. Birds took off in fear around them as Deja's screams of pain sounded throughout the surrounding area.

* * *

Drew's front door slammed into the wall when someone opened it with force. His first thought was that it was an angry Deja returning. To his surprise it was one of the sisters from the same litter. Alexa. And she was carrying an unconscious Deja in her arms.

"Help her," Alexa placed Deja down on the floor.  
"What happened?" Drew asked.  
"I took her wings," Alexa sniffled and showed him the dagger. "With this."  
"That's mine," Drew said. "Wait! Did you say you took her wings?"

Drew dropped down to his knees and pulled Deja up to sit so he could take a look at her back. The wings were gone. Small bits were left close to the back.

"For fuck's sake, Deja!" Drew growled. "He's not worth it!"  
"To her he is," Alexa said.  
"Why the hell did you let her talk you into it?" Drew asked.  
"Because I love her," Alexa answered. "I want her to be happy. She won't be happy without him."  
"Fuck!" Drew shouted.

Drew picked up Deja and carried her to the bathroom. He had to do it now while she was still unconscious. Alexa followed behind and watched him as he located different things in a drawer.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Drew muttered.  
"What are you doing?" Alexa asked.  
"Giving her what she wants," Drew answered.

He used a scalpel to cut off the last pieces of the wings. He cleaned the wounds on Deja's back and sewed them together so they would heal.

"She'll get scars," Drew sighed. "But at least no one will ever be able to tell there ever was a pair of wings there."  
"Thank you," Alexa said.

Drew gave Alexa a tired smile and pulled out his phone to call Baron.

"What do you want?" Baron answered angrily.  
"Get the fuck over here now! Bring whatever money you got. If you want her, come get her now," Drew said.

Drew hung up before Baron could question anything. He knew Baron would come as fast as he could. Only five minutes later he heard a car stopping outside of his house.

"Drew!" Baron called.  
"In the bathroom!" Drew called back.

Baron came running out. He dropped to his knees next to Deja.

"Careful," Drew said. "I just sewed her together."  
"What did you do to her?" Baron asked.  
"I took her wings," Alexa said. "Drew fixed the mess I made."  
"Why?" Baron asked.

Drew patted Baron's hand and looked at his friend.

"Because of you," Drew said. "She wants to be with you. If you back down now, I'm not sure what I'll do to you. She just made the biggest sacrifice to be with you."  
"I'm not backing down," Baron smiled. "I wanna be with her."  
"Do you have a plan?" Drew asked.  
"I bought a house boat," Baron asked.  
"A house boat?" Drew laughed.  
"In Greece. I saw it this morning and I bought it online. I even called a fishing boat with a job opening. They told me to come," Baron said.  
"I should have known," Drew shook his head. "Once you set your mind on something, you're a fucking bulldozer."

Drew stood up. Somewhere he felt proud of Baron. Baron always followed through with his plans, but he still needed a bit of help to put this plan into motion. Help that Drew could provide.

"Keep holding her," Drew said. "She should wake up soon. I'll call a guy I know to fly you out of here."  
"Why am I not even surprised?" Baron chuckled.  
"This has nothing to do with my work. My uncle has a rich friend with a private jet. He's always down for taking a trip somewhere. He loves to travel," Drew said. "Just get her to wake up so you'll look like a normal couple out on an adventure."

Baron did just that. He listened to Drew talking on his phone while walking around his house. Alexa sat quietly on the toilet lid and watched.

"Baron?" Deja asked.

Baron broke out into a smile when he saw Deja had opened her eyes.

"I'm here," Baron said.

Baron helped Deja up to sit. She looked over at Alexa. Alexa stood up, walked over, crouched down and took Deja's hand.

"Be happy," Alexa said.  
"Thank you," Deja said.

Alexa walked out without another word. Baron couldn't help but feel his own heart break for Deja as he watched the sad look on her face. She wanted this but it was still hard to let go of the only world she had known for so many years.

"We're going to Greece," he said.  
"What's in Greece?" She asked.  
"A home and a job," he smiled. "Happiness for us."  
"As long as I'm with you, I'm happy," she said.

He leaned in and kissed her. They broke apart when they heard Drew clearing his throat. They looked over at Drew. He was standing with her leather coat in his hands. She had forgotten it the night before when she took off.

"All set," Drew said. "You'll meet him at the airport."  
"Come on, gorgeous," Baron said.

Baron helped Deja up to stand. They took a few steps and stopped in front of Drew. Drew shook his head and gave Deja a sad smile.

"I always knew you were special," Drew said. "I mean, extra special. You're all pretty fucking special, but I always knew you were different from your sisters."  
"How come?" Deja asked.  
"You didn't come out the way you were supposed to. The first litter were all dark haired. They were meant to be. The second letter was supposed to be all blonde. Alexa, Carmella and Dana turned out that way. But you... No, you had your own plans," Drew chuckled. "Nothing inside you should make you look like you do. They couldn't figure it out. You were the greatest mystery to them. I just knew you were meant for something else. And maybe this is it. I always assumed it was something bigger, and in a way it is. You were meant to love and be loved."

Drew pulled Deja in for a hug. He was careful not to touch her back. He handed her her coat, and then he handed Baron some antibiotics just in case it was needed for her back.

"Take care of her," Drew looked at Baron.  
"You're not coming with us?" Deja asked.  
"I can't. It's not safe in case they catch you on a camera before leaving. They can't see me with you," Drew said.  
"How will we find this guy with the jet?" Baron asked.  
"Bubba Ray Dudley," Drew said. "He'll find you. Don't worry."

**TWO DAYS LATER**

"Morning, gorgeous," Baron said.  
"Bagels?" Deja asked.  
"You really like them," he chuckled.  
"My favorite bread," she smiled.

He pulled her up to sit and kissed her. He looked down her naked back and studied the wounds.

"They're healing fast," he said.  
"I still got some powers inside me," she laughed.

He pulled her up on his lap and wrapped his arms around her lower back.

"We need a cover story for them. Some accident in your childhood will do. Just in case you meet people and they ask," he said.  
"I climbed a high tree and fell down on some sharp rocks," she said.  
"Yeah, that'll probably do," he said.

He kissed her again. This felt right beyond anything he'd ever felt before. This was the good life to him.

"Let's enjoy this sunny day before I start work tomorrow," he said. "Anything you wanna do."  
"I wanna be lazy in bed," she said.  
"That can be arranged," he chuckled. "Oh, and I sold the bar an hour ago. They kept outbiding each other until one of them gave up. Paperwork has been sent through a lawyer, and tomorrow we should be very rich."  
"I feel rich having you," she said.


End file.
